


Pep Talk For Soul Roomates

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Chara and Frisk share a soul, Chara is helpful, Depression, Glitter looks good, I cant believe how trashy i am, Multi, Neutral party chara, Or a brain idk, Pffdhbbbf, Recovery, Sponsored by crunchyroll (jk)), Swearing, Why did i decide to make two multi chapter fics at one time, hnnn, non binary Frisk, the gang's all here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-13 02:55:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5691985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk hasn't seen daylight for months. Everyone's broken like a set of dropped china and no one knows what to do.</p><p>So it's convenient when a familiar little voice pipes up in Frisk's head to tell them what to do.</p><p>Now it's up to them to bring everyone back together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Get Up! Get Out Again! Get Out of Your Room!

**Author's Note:**

> Me: yeah I'll write a fic that'll be fun
> 
> Me at 12 am: sure let's just start another one that'll be fine sure go ahead a a a AaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA
> 
>  
> 
> Help

Frisk, fresh and fifteen, was sitting at their desktop, surrounded by potato chisp wrappers and empty soda bottles. It smelt like death in their cramped room, to the point where even Sans had stopped coming in.

Their hand had been resting on the mouse for so long that a sticky residue has formed. When Frisk wasn't burning the glow of the screen into their retinas, they were sleeping or avoiding Toriel's disappointed gaze whilst in the kitchen.

Where had it all gone? Puns, pies, late night anime marathons with friends…well, for a start, the people that provided all that were gone. Gone, gone, gone.

Sans had more empty bottles than friends by now. Toriel was a nervous wreck from the pressure of her reclusive and unresponsive adopted child. Alphys and Undyne had moved away, to a small apartment in California and they were too busy at cons and meetups to even text.

Papyrus was running an Italian store, with Mettaton as his roommate (Frisk really didn't know about those two. Were they friends? Boyfriends??? Well, they didn't know because neither of them ever talked about it.) 

Asgore was…Asgore was out of touch, out of reach. But Frisk had seen the way the bags under his eyes only multiplied and the way his smile faltered constantly. They saw the way that an inevitable train was speeding towards him.

Frisk even felt a pang remembering Flowey. He was still curled up, underneath the surface, dying inside and alone. A lot like Frisk was now.

So this is how it was. A broken ending to a beautiful story. Frisk would weep, but they didn't have the energy to. 

At least the people online would reply, would tell them about conventions, would cheer them up with sweet messages in their inbox. It wasn't much, but each word was a weak sunbeam in Frisk's personal rainstorm.

The clock read twelve forty seven pm when it happened. A soft, sighing voice from somewhere not quite inside their head piped up.

"Oh Frisk, Frisk, Frisky Frisk…" it muttered. "Look at this! Just look at it!"

Frisk jumped, a repulsively sticky tear sounding as their hand parted from their mouse. "Huh?" They'd kind of forgotten what it was like to speak now.

"Don't you 'huh' me! You've been slacking! I thought you were meant to be our hero? Hey, if I was you, I would be fixing all these problems instead of scrolling through my social media."

"Can't fix m'brain…" Frisk mumbled, drawing their blanket tighter around their shoulders. "M'not a hero."

"Shut up," the voice snapped. "I want you to get up and out of this disgusting chair in three…two…one!"

Frisk found themself surprisingly compelled to get up, and, with all the strength they could muster, they lurched upwards, wincing as the tingling of pins and needles shot up their legs.

"Tired," Frisk croaked. "Want to sleep." They cleared their throat.

"No! You slept until eleven this morning, idiot!" The words hurt, but Frisk stumbled to the door nevertheless. They groped the bathroom door handle, undressing and forcing themselves into the shower.

The water was ice cold for a few seconds-it was enough to shock Frisk into full alertness. They washed their hair, wincing at the thick knots and split ends.

To some extent, it did feel good to scrub the stickiness from their skin. Frisk got dressed in cleaner clothes (still the same striped shirt, however) and slid down against the door.

"Better, isn't it?" The voice almost sounded…smug?

"I guess..."

"It definitely does. Now, I want you to get up and go right into the kitchen and make lunch with Toriel."

Frisk's breath seemed to stick in their throat. "I-…I can't."

"Yes, you can! I will pester you until you do!"

Frisk pressed their hands against their ears and hunched their shoulders.

"Frisk!"

"Frisk!"

"Frisk!"

"Fine!" Frisk choked out, storming out into the kitchen.

They were almost startled by the tall, imposing form of their adoptive mother. Frisk began panicking-because what would she say, what would she do? Frisk knew that the anguish in her eyes would kill them.

But instead the smile Toriel wore could melt butter, and also frozen hearts. 

"My child!" she said softly. "Oh, I…" She paused. Frisk watched her choose her words-the way that the therapist had told her to. "Well, you look good! I was hoping that you'd come down for lunch…I was going to make snail pie but I suppose that we could have something much less simple…" 

"Good," the voice smiled. "I'm proud of you, Frisk." 

"I'll help," Frisk offered, barely audible.

Toriel's face lit up even more. She set them cutting the vegetables. Carrots were Frisk's favourite. They'd almost forgotten about that.

When everything was prepared, Sans sloped into the kitchen. How long had it been since he'd worn proper pants? 

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, his tone ever so slightly warmer than usual, but maybe that was because he stank of booze. "Glad to see that you're not sandwiched in your room," he added, picking up a slice of bread from the centre of the table and spreading it with ketchup. 

Toriel swallowed nervously. Frisk kept their eyes glued to the table. He wasn't even trying, especially not with the puns.

"Make eye contact," the voice prompted.

Nothing.

"MAKE EYE CONTACT!"

Frisk's pupils darted upwards and they coughed, forcing a small, brittle smile. God, they missed Sans-from-six-years-ago so much. 

"Don't look so grin kid. You're looking pretty paste-ry." He pushed a cake around his plate with a fork.

Frisk's eyes lowered again. This was unbearable. But they'd done it. It was five more minutes until they retreated back to their room. The wave of musty, hellish air knocked them back slightly.

"Well done."

"Why?" Frisk asked the darkness.

"I can't bear to see you like this any more. It's miserable to share a body with someone like you. So I'm helping out!"

"What now?"

The sound of a ticking clock occupied the silence.

"Well, tomorrow you're going to get up again and start fixing these problems. We're going to Papyrus's!" The voice sounded just as determined as Frisk had been once.

"Ok," they found themself saying. "But who are you?"

"Well, I'm meant to be your worst nightmare but I guess I'm your best dream now!" The voice had the giggle of a child. "It's Chara, kid, and I'm gonna help you out of this. Pinky promise.


	2. Spaghetti Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk meets Mettaton and Papyrus and Chara is learning how to be a kid again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if theyre ooc, tell me

If there was one thing that was really curious about Chara, it was the way that they almost seemed to be able to speak their smiles.

This one was smug sounding as Frisk sat bolt upright in the collapsing Volvo that Toriel was driving. If the prospect of running straight into a ditch because of Toriel's admittedly poor road skills wasn't terrifying enough, the travel tablets that Frisk had taken before the journey weren't quite doing their job and they were having a hard time keeping the contents of their stomach inside the premises. 

"Frisk," Chara whispered. It was almost like they were hovering over them, hands digging into Frisk's shoulders. "If you vom, make sure to aim for the back of Sans's head."

Frisk grit their teeth in defiance, training their sight to focus on the cars racing either side of them.

"Yellow car!" Chara cried, socking Frisk in the arm. And they could almost feel the impact, pressing their hands to their lips to prevent any kind of outburst. Both verbal or…well, thinking about it wouldn't help.

"Chara! Stop it!" Frisk hissed, eyeing their 'parents.' "You're not helping!"

Luckily, Sans was passed out and practically sweated the deep amber-brown of whisky, and Toriel was too busy humming along to 80's pop garbage to care. 

But Frisk was still conscious of how bizzarre it would look if they saw their hermit adopted child talking to someone called "Chara" who wasn't a physical being and then vomiting. An exorcism might be ordered.

"How much longer?" Chara whined, lazily tugging on the reddish brown strands of Frisk's hair. No one else seemed to be able to see Chara do it though. Oh well, maybe Frisk was even further gone than they'd thought they were previously.

After another excruciating two hours, the car juddered to a halt outside a small, run down restaurant. The sign "PAPYRUS'S PASTA" was already dirty looking, but it almost held the same charm as the aforementioned chef himself.

Sans woke with a start, almost smashing his skull into the airbag compartment.

"Oh boy, I can't believe I fell asleep," he chuckled, turning to Frisk and raising his 'eyebrows.' "I'm such a lazybones, huh?"

Frisk directed their attention out of the window and nodded, snapping the elastic of a loomband bracelet against their wrist. The sting of it distracted them from unbearable reality.

Toriel laughed too loudly, breaking the painful silence and she swung open a car door, almost snapping it off of its hinges.

"Sans, don't you want to see Papyrus too?" she asked, her tone tentative.

Sans shrugged and reclined in his chair. "I think I'll just chill here maybe…" He yawned and cracked his knuckles. "Maybe rest for a while, get a dr…something to eat somewhere. Wanna come with, Tori?"

Toriel frowned. She obviously didn't want to leave Sans alone. Frisk couldn't blame her, nor could they blame Chara rolling their own eyes.

"It's fine," Frisk mumbled. "I'll be ok." They lurched out of the car, drinking in the air of the oily, fatty fast-food. It was better than the sickening mix of homemade cooking and alcohol that was in the car.

"Well, if you're sure, my child." My child. It had been a while since Frisk had heard that. It made their heart ache a little. Toriel stooped down and kissed Frisk's cheek, petting their head. "We'll be back in a few hours! Use your telephone if you need us!" Frisk watched the car peel away and down a street. 

"What a creep," Chara muttered. "Why does she stay with that guy?:

"It isn't his fault." Frisk was surprised by how defensive they were. "He's just…hurting."

"Well, what does he need?" Chara snapped. "A gaster-plaster for his boo boos?" Frisk deadpanned. "Wow, thanks for your enthusiasm, buddy."

"Look, let's just go in," Frisk sighed, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open. They couldn't help but feel a tinge of nervousness. It had been so long.

The door rung a happy jingle and Frisk was almost knocked over by the smell of tomato sauces, oregano and pasta. Not to mention that it actually smelt pretty good too.

The little round tables had checked cloths on them, with menus (all in Papyrus font) and salt and pepper shakers shaped like Papyrus's head. A menu scrawled in messy writing read out the menu: SPAGHETTI, ANY KIND OF WIGGLY PASTA, PIZZA IN THE SHAPE OF METTATON'S FACE.

A tv was playing the premiere of a movie staring the glamorous robot. One that Frisk had been looking forward to watching for weeks now. 

A giggly human couple sat by the window, a hairy monster was enioying a plate of too-much pasta and there was a dog sitting under the counter.

"Not bad," Chara remarked. "I wanna try the pizza."

Then, Frisk heard an all too familiar voice resounding from the kitchen.

"NYOOOH! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COULD'VE BURNT THIS BEAUTIFUL SPAGHETTI!"

Papyrus rushed out into the dining area with a smoking plate of…whatever it was.

"NOW WHERE TO DISPOSE OF MY SHAME?"

Papyrus whipped around, and, catching a glimpse of Frisk, he seemed to do a double take. Good old Papyrus.

"It's almost like he knows he's the comic relief!" Chara observed, floating around him. "Fascinating."

"COULD THAT BE MY BFF FRISK?" Papyrus tackled them into a hug, the burnt substance falling onto the dog. "IT'S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT TO BE SEEING YOU AGAIN!"

"Uhm…hi," Frisk said, patting Papyrus's cheekbone and allowing themselves to smile. "You too."

"AND LOOK HOW TALL YOU ARE! YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY BEEN CONSUMING YOUR CALCIUM. ALMOST TALL ENOUGH TO RIVAL ME!" Pride shone bright in the skeleton's eye sockets.

Chara smirked and sat on Papyrus's head as he whisked Frisk away into the kitchen. 

"AND THIS IS MY OPERATING ROOM! THE ART OF PASTA IS A VERY DELICATE PROCEDURE, AND SO I'M EQUIPPED WITH THE STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY! SUCH AS A 'BLENDER' AND 'SPATULA.' I STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO."

Just as Papyrus was beginning to launch into the lengthy process of making spaghetti sauce, the bell rung and yet another familiar voice floated into the room.

"Hello, Papy, darling? Where are you?"

Frisk poked their head around the doorframe, drinking in the flawless form of Mettaton. He'd obviously gone back to his more humanoid robot form. His boots seemed even more dazzilingly pink, and a set of sunglasses rested low on his nose.

His mouth dropped open when he saw Frisk, obviously exaggerated but the happiness in his eyes was real. 

"Frisky!" he cried, rushing forward and scooping them up into a rib-crushingly tight embrace. Chara snickered behind them. "Oh, my dear, it's been far too long! You look utterly gorgeous now, oh my, look how you've grown!"

Frisk nodded demurely, still in a slight daze. Mettaton rushed over to Papyrus, kissing his skull lightly and asking if he could make a pot of black coffee.

"Come on, sweetie," Mettaton commanded, snatching up Frisk's hand and leading them upstairs. "I want to give you a little makeover."

Frisk was seated at Mettaton's electric pink dresser which was adorned by glowing fairy lights, soft feathers and perfume bottles.

He rummaged through a small bag, picking out the blusher and applying it to Frisk's cheeks.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again," Mettaton sighed. Frisk tried to ignore Chara trying on some of his lipstick and pouting their lips into the mirror.

"I do like it here, but work is so tiring…" he added, twirling the makeup brush in his hands and hunching his shoulders. "It's always filming, or dressing up, or dancing." Mettaton bit his lip. "Showbiz is fun, but hard work! And I never have time to spend with poor Papy…" If Frisk squinted had enough, they could see faint blush on the robot's cheeks.

"He's so noble. I must admit, I do earn a fair bit of money..." Mettaton unscrewed the lid of his mascara. "But little Papy wanted to make his own money. Refused to take any of mine." He smiled faintly. "I…I don't know what I'd do without him. Which is strange for me, because…! I'm usually so independent."

He picked out some eyeshadow. "I think you'd suit a blue," he muttered, before continuing. "And I…w-well, I mean, I like Papy very much, obviously, but I can't just tell him that, can I? And he never picks up on my flirting!" Mettaton paused, and the colour seemed to drain from his face. "You don't think…he doesn't like me?"

Friks remembered the way that Papyrus had demanded that every episode of Mettaton's show be recorded, and the way he had blushed when the superstar spoke to him, or the way that he acted like a lovesick puppy when he had to call him for the first time. "Oh no, he definitely likes you."

"You think?" Mettaton sighed. He picked up a mirror and gave it to Frisk. "There! How do you like it?" 

It wasn't really Frisk's style, but if it would keep Mettaton happy then they were definitely for it. 

"HEY, MY BFFS! YOUR HOT BEVERAGES ARE SERVED!"

Mettaton shook his head fondly and sighed, sashaying around the dressing table. "Coming, darling!"

The two sat together, sipping their drinks. Frisk hid their disgust at the bitter tang of it, staring down into their reflection. 

Chara snatched it from their hand, while Mettaton chatted to Papyrus about his day. "Ew!" they scowled, shuddering. "This tastes like shi-"

Frisk shot them a sharp look.

"I mean, uh… poop. Does that make you happy?"

Shaking their head, Frisk returned to the kitchen, dumping the cup in the sink.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus called. "I WAS WONDERING IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP ME PREPARE SOME TRULY DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI? OF COURSE…" He smiled self-indulgently, chuckling. "ALTHOUGH YOU COULD NEVER MATCH MY EXPERT SKILLS, IT'S A FUN…PASTA-TIME OF MINE!"

Frisk groaned loudly, beginning to search for the required equipment. They brushed down the messy counter top, cracking their knuckles in preparation. Although they'd made the same pasta over and over again, it had been nearly four years now since the last time they'd put the ingredients in the pot themself. And it never tasted as good when made by someone else.

Papyrus accompanied them, dicing tomatoes with suprising speed and finesse. He shelled a clove of garlic and hummed as he rattled the comically shaped seasoning shakers.

Mettaton strode in, giving a throaty laugh, and twirled Papyrus around by his hand, flicking on the boombox the sat on the centre table. Frisk couldn't help but tap their feet as the water boiled.

This was almost like…how they remembered. The smell of cooking clouded the room. Papyrus sent a stack of saucepans toppling and Frisk had to stifle a giggle.

Chara looked different. Curious, slightly disapproving, almost, but…happy. "Can I…can I help?" they asked nervously. 

Frisk smiled and held out a pepper to them. "Knock yourself out."

XXX

Not too much later, there were three plates of delcious spaghetti awaiting. Frisk jolted as they heard a car pull up outside the restaurant. It was darker than they'd thought.

Toriel tapped at the door, and Papyrus welcomed her in, dragging her into a hug. Sans lingered behind, looking...afraid, almost. 

Papyrus's whole face seemed to glow with pure happiness. He knelt down gently and gave Sans a hug-but almost like he knew how fragile his brother was. Frisk was glad that the store was closed now, so no one could see the skeleton crumbling down and choking out his tears.

Chara flicked a piece of onion from their jumper. "I kind of hate the guy, but I can't help but feel bad for him."

"WELL, YOU MUST JOIN US FOR SUPPER! I CAN ASURE YOU, IT WAS MADE WITH BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS AND PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF ROBOT IN THERE TOO!" Papyrus ushered the pair upstairs.

"Poor Sans," Mettaton frowned. He turned to Frisk. "You should've told us Frisk. You don't have to be alone in these things. We love you very much, dear."

Frisk nodded. They knew that, but sometimes it just didn't feel like it.

XXX

This was it. How it was before-being happy, loving everything. Laughing at terrible puns, eating spaghetti, singing the numbers from Mettaton's newest TV show. 

It was home again. Even Chara was smiling without any sarcasm, simply enjoying the presence of Frisk's friends. 

But something bothered them. The thought of leaving this-of watching Mettaton and Papyrus face away again-made them want to double over and cry. And so they spoke up.

"You should come over for my birthday."

The burble of speaking cut off, leaving every pair of eyes boring right into Frisk. They swallowed.

"I'm turning sixteen soon. So I thought that…you could stay over…for a bit." The rapped their fingers against the table, looking at their lap.

"Well, I think that's a delightful idea!" Mettaton exclaimed, clasping his hands. Frisk watched Chara's smile triple in size.

"Well…we do have some space in the car now, and you could come with us for a bit…" Toriel smiled, stirring her pasta around.

"Hey," Sans smirked. "Let's spa-get-tti out of here and onto the road."

Another unified laugh broke the silence.

XXX  
A few minutes later, and there were two more people in the car. Papyrus was snoring away, petting that fluffy white dog he'd insisted in bringing with him. Mettaton had dropped off, his head resting against the window. He must've been exhausted after arguing with his manager like that.

Chara snickered. "So many new swear words! Hey, what does the word co-"

They paused when they noticed that Frisk was drifting away themself, smiling gently. Chara shook their head, but patted Frisk's.

"Goodnight, buddy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry Sans, I just keep making you this horrible guy
> 
> Tbh I actually love Sans, he's just so negatively portrayed in this fics. RIP Sans


	3. Suspicious contents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara screams and eats nutella

Frisk woke up groggily, hands on their stomach. They could vaguely remember yesterday (vaguely.) Everything looked fuzzy as the rubbed sleep out of their eyes. Ugh, they wished that they'd slept earlier yesterday, but picking up Mettaton and Papyrus had taken much longer than it should have.

Chara yawned loudly from within Frisk's head. Scratch that, the child was curled up at their feet (still strangely translucent) and hugging a large stuffed toy. Frisk smiled, giggling to themself.

Chara starts upwards, their left cheek red from sleeping on the blanket. "W-what? What's so funny?!" Frisk shrugged and raised their eyebrows.

"Come on, let's get breakfast."

Chara browsed through the cereal choices, grimacing. "Don't you have Buttercup Puffs?" they whined. "They were my favourite brand when I was alive."

Frisk shook their head, taking an apple and slicing it into perfectly equal sections. "Chara, that was years ago. They were banned here because it was found out that they contained some chemicals that caused children to become increasingly violent."

"Well, that would explain a lot, huh?"

Sans shuffled into the kitchen, wearing a stained shirt and his collapsing pink slippers. "Mornin', kid. Well aren't you an early bird?"

Frisk flinched as Sans ruffled their hair. Chara glared at the back of his skull, the spoon that they held bending in half. 

The skeleton ground his teeth into a cigarette, leaning heavily against the doorframe. He let his eyes slide closed and gave a tired smile.

Frisk coughed a little, as a reminder that they hated the silvery blue smoke that snaked into the air, but Sans was lost in his own world. They rolled their eyes and shovelled some oatmeal into their mouth.

"Why would you eat that slop?" Chara's face curled up in disgust. "It tastes like eating the colour grey."

"The nutella is in the cupboard."

Mouth salivating, Chara went straight for the pot full of deliciousness and abandoned use of a spoon, using their hands like a five year old instead of a nearly-sixteen-year-old.

"Oh boy…this stuff is like magic…you sure this doesn't have drugs in it?"

All Frisk did was deadpan.

XXX

Chara stood at the edge of the room, looking exceedingly concerned. Their eyebrows were knit, sleeves rolled up to their elbows.

"Sooo…you're telling me that we're meant to tackle THIS?" They waved their hand around at the piles of laundry, garbage and…suspicious lumps…

Frisk nodded, clutching their bucket of water harder. For the first time in several years, they felt their heart spark up in determination. A small grin formed on their face.

At once, they leapt into the job, dragging a pile of comics out into the hallway. It was old and useless, but they'd kept it for the sentiment. Chara flipped through them, then revelled in disgust.

"Gross! It's that crappy Japanese stuff!" they hissed. Frisk smiled sheepishly, piling the papers into a carboard box that would be sent to the recycling.

Next to go were empty candy wrappers and bottles. Chara screamed when they stepped in a sticky puddle of something, and Frisk had to clean their foot, reassuring the previously genocidal villian that it was probably just spilt soda. Probably.

After the candy wrappers and cans had been sorted into their respective boxes, Frisk had moved into the endless piles of socks. It was, strangely, mostly socks. Particularly right ones. Chara took to wearing them over their ears.

They sent a couple of their sweaters and shorts to the wash too, and promised Chara that they would be the one to throw away the bandages.

"It's fine with fresh blood," they spat. "Just not that disgusting sticky old stuff."

The plush toys went into the washing machine-except from a pink giraffe that Chara insisted to keep on the bed. When asked why, they shrugged and wiped the perspiration from their forehead.

Halfway through the cleaning session, Mettaton came in with some cookies for Frisk and sprayed some perfume around the room.

"It's called Parfum de Mettaton," he said. "I think you'll like it." It smelt like metal and legs.

Chara muched on an oatmeal and raisin one whilst chucking crumpled pieces of paper into a box. 

"How can you like those things?" Frisk wheezed, coughing through a storm of dust.

"Well, what can I say? I'm the embodiment of evil."

This proved not to be quite true when they screamed in terror at a spider family living above one of the cupboards. Frisk had to rock Chara back and forth to calm them.

Eventually, everything looked…ok. The colour of the carpet was actually visible, and most of the dust was gone. But now they had to tackle the insides of the cupboards. Frisk grimaced as they opened one up, hit by a stench of mildew and mothballs.

Sans wandered in, tutting as he saw the tattered and forgotten clothes. "Don't sweat it kid. These clothes look pretty mOLD, huh? Well, we can probably donate the fabric to somewhere. I'll handle this though."

He cracked his knuckles, his eye flaring to life suddenly. The glow grew blindingly bright, then settled to a cerulean burn. The sight of it still sent Frisk into awe-but Chara was hiding and clutching Frisk's sweater.

Slowly, a bright lining surrounded the clothes, and Sans levitated them into a bag. He stood shakily, the light extinguishing when he was done as quickly as it had lit. Sweat (impossibly) trickled down his face, and he drew in a deep breath.

"Oh boy, that really did a number on me, kiddo…" Sans choked out, bending over slightly. He righted himself again and grinned. "Call me if you need me again." 

Frisk caught him at the door and gave the skeleton a brief hug, drinking in the very faint smell of hot dogs under smoke and booze. Sans chuckled, a little surprised, and patted their back.

Chara scowled as Frisk came back, hastily returning to disposing of old toys and video games. "He's nice. Give him a chance."

"I'll believe THAT when he apologizes," Chara pouted, eyes steely.

The sun was setting, and Toriel was calling for dinner. Frisk stepped back, grabbing Chara's hand to let them look too. Chara's grip tightened and they sucked in that breath.

"Woah," they muttered. "I think this is the most hard work that I've done in my life."

Frisk grinned a little, squeezing their friend's hand. "And the best part," they said softly. "Is that we did it together."

XXX 

Frisk took their second hot dog and another ladle of salad. It tasted good. Good food from Sans, nonetheless, who hadn't cooked since a disastrous accident on the grill two summers ago!

He served hot cats when he ran out of 'dogs and slid glasses of cola along the table. Papyrus admitted that although it wasn't as good as his spaghetti, it was still "A MEAL THAT WAS FIT FOR A PRESTIGIOUS CHEF LIKE THE GREAT PAPYRUS HIMSELF!"

Toriel cheered on Sans's skills, offering him a place in the kitchen next to her, and the little white dog seemed content to just snuffle up people's leftovers.

Even Chara begrudgingly admitted that the hot dogs DID taste pretty good. Frisk smiled triumphantly, appeased by the warm glow that radiated throughout the room.

"Oh, and Frisk!" Toriel called. "We'll be going on a road trip to find Alphys and Undyne tomorrow! I've booked a few rooms in a hotel and packed our things, so we should be ready to go!"

Frisk could barely contain their excitement.

XXX

Later that night, Frisk admired the freshly cleaned room. Chara was so tired out that they crashed instantly, curled up next to the stuffed giraffe.

The child drifted off and slept so soundly that they didn't hear the noise of Sans's cigarette packet hitting the bottom of the trash can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired 


	4. Sponsored by Crunchyroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Sans WEEB OUT and Chara looks good in glitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jk I'm only sponsored by YOUR MOM 
> 
>  
> 
> Also omg this is the longest chapter in the fic   
> And thank you so much for all the kudos, comments and views! It means a lot!

Toriel loaded up the car, whilst Chara groaned and lay on the roof of it, basking in the sun rays. They tilted their borrowed sunglasses, staring down their snub nose at Frisk.

"Do we really need to retrieve the weebs?" the child huffed, rolling into their stomach and leaning in closer to Frisk. 

Frisk rolled their eyes and climbed into the back seat. Chara joined them, squishing into a small space between Sans's and Frisk's seat so they wouldn't be sat on our anything. 

"Chara, what have I told you?" Frisk hissed. "Alphys and Undyne are family. We're bringing them back with us."

"Fine, but when the whole house becomes invaded by instant noodles packets, don't blame me."

Papyrus and Mettaton joined them, the latter looking paticularly pleased to be going. "Oh, I do hope Alphys is doing ok," the robot said nervously, squeezing Frisk's arm. "She's always been ever so anxious, and…"

Frisk simply smiled and patted Mettaton's shoulder. "She'll be fine."

He nodded, then turned to Papyrus. "Oh, Papy, dear! Your scarf is all lopsided. Here, let me fix it."

The skeleton protested and squabbled a little, but he didn't seem to bothered when Mettaton left his hand resting on Papyrus's chest for a second too long. Nor when he inched a little closer to him.

Frisk raised their eyebrows toward Chara, but all they did was mouth: "I told you so."

Once Sans and Toriel were in the car, and after arguing over maps, and then making up, they began. It was going to be one long trip. Frisk nodded off to sleep several times, only to wake sporadically and squint against the silver light shining through the car's windows. Each time they felt dazed and dreamy.

Chara was listening to Sans reciting the entirety of the Bee Movie. "What a sadist," Chara whispered, their face twisting into an expression of disgust. "He does this all for his own sick pleasure."

Frisk rolled their eyes again. Mettaton and Papyrus were doing a crossword, and the skeleton seemed distressed when he couldn't find the word: "carbonara." Mettaton was comforting him in a way that was a little too close for friends. 

Meanwhile, Toriel was oblivious to the controlled chaos, and was humming along to ABBA songs that played from a CD. She tapped her claws on the steering wheel and sung the occasional lyric. Frisk fell asleep again.

XXX

When they woke, it was because Chara was inches from their face, and their breath was warm and tickly. Frisk groaned and rubbed the dust from their eyes. "What is it?" they croaked.

"We're making a stop. At a burger place, I think," Chara explained, jumping out of an open door. "Thank God! I'm starving!"

Frisk trailed into the place, barely even taking in the name. Mettaton had a crafty grin on his face that they only understood when Frisk see who was working at the counter.

"Oh my God," Chara snorted.

Cleaning glasses with empty eyes, looking as if his soul had left his body, was Burgerpants. The guy looked better than before, admittedly, but that all changed when he saw Mettaton. He seemed to recoil like a turtle into a shell when he saw his boss.

"Well, what a suprise, darling! I had no idea that you world at THIS MTT-Burger-Emporium too! Great to see you. Now get me and my friends some fries, and so help me if you slack off. I'll make you play Glammy the Dancing Burger again." Mettaton gave a very pink, shiny grin and instantly turned his attention back to Papyrus.

"Help, lil' buddy," Burgerpants whispered, his eyes boring into Frisk.

When the fries arrived, they tasted like glitter, and Chara ate most of them, leaving them with a sparkly gold and pink mouth.

"Do I look good?" they asked, pouting and making kissing noises. Before Frisk had time to answer (very sarcastically) Burgerpants had materialised mysteriously beside them, a glowing cigarette hanging out from between his teeth.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, voice gravelly and tired. "Long time no see."

Frisk smiled. Chara stole Toriel's forgotten fries and Starfait. Sometimes it was easy to mistake them for a raccoon. 

"Yeah," Frisk said softly. "You ok?"

"Well, not exactly, little buddy. I found that the road of acting wasn't for me…so I came back to this dump." He sighed heavily. "So yeah. Still haven't shaken the name 'Bpants.' Still sell sequin-burgers for a livin'." 

Digging in their pocket, Frisk frowned a little. They pulled out two cards. One had their adress and number, the other the name of a small local acting troupe. They pressed them into Burgerpants's paw.

"It's my sixteenth birthday soon. See if you can make it."

Frisk waved Burgerpants goodbye and the gang returned to the car. Chara was still wiping glitter from around their face, only succeeding in smearing it further. 

Sighing, Frisk shook their head. Oh boy. What a truly terrifying monster.

XXX

The car eventually drew up outside a block of apartments. How long had they been driving for? Regardless, Toriel looked like a mess, Sans's voice was hoarse from also reading the entire scripts of Shrek 1 and 2 after the Bee Movie, Mettaton was worrying about his makeup and Papyrus had a whole stack of completed crosswords. 

Chara groaned as they stretched their legs, giving a happy sigh. They cracked their fingers and then, obscenely, their neck, giving Frisk a sick grin. They shuddered and turned away.

The stairs that led up to the apartment left Frisk panting by the second landing. They really needed to exercise more; ugh. They shook their head hard, wiped the sweat from their brow and began walking again, behind everyone but Sans who was even slower than Frisk. Typical.

Frisk was the one who rapped on the door, shuffling outside and working the pins and needles out of their feet. Everyone waited expectantly in the extremely crowded hallway-Toriel standing just behind Frisk, Sans to the left of them, Chara to the right and Mettaton and Papyrus towering above the fifteen year old. There may as well have been elevator music.

There was a soft, muffled voice from somewhere. "Oh! U-um, j-just wait up! I-I'll be right t-there…!" Padding noises sounded, and then the turning of a lock.

The door creaked open. Unsurprisingly, it was Alphys on the other side. She was wearing cosplay of some description, not Mew Mew, but something from a game (something about pigeons?) and smiled nervously for a second before it dawned on her face when she recognized the large crowd before her. Frisk also, absentmindedly, noticed that she had lipstick marks all over her cheeks and mouth.

Chara stuck themself halfway through the door. "Fish lady and weeb dinosaur been getting busy!" they muttered, raising their eyebrows at Frisk.

"U-Undyne!!" Alphys called, looking ecstatic. "Look who's here!"

"WHAT? IS IT THAT LITTLE MONSTER KID AGAIN OR-" A thudding, crashing noise eminated from down the hallway and Undyne slowed to a stop next to Alphys, her lipstick smudged.

A ginormous, toothy grin split across her face, and she swept Frisk up into a hug, swinging them around. They would've cried out, but they were being squeezed too tightly. 

"KID! It's great to see you again!" Undyne rushed forward to Papyrus, noogie-ing him and laughing when he whined. Alphys waved a little at Sans and Mettaton brought his hands to his face, giving a gasp and falling to his knees to meet Alphys' tiny height. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh, did I miss you," he mumbled, looking so…soft for the first time.

Chara had a strange look on their face. They were frowning, but smiling, like their face was confused. "Uh…Frisk, what IS this?" They touched their chest lightly. "It feels good."

"Well, Chara, most people call it friendship, but I guess it's more like a family at this point." Frisk smiled faintly, watching Sans compliment Alphys's cosplay, Toriel and Undyne chatting about cooking, Papyrus telling her about his new job. "You know, a real family."

"Been a long time since I've seen one of them."

"Same here."

XXX

When everyone was ushered inside, Frisk took a good look at the cramped apartment. It smelt of discount instant noodles, anime deodorant and MTT products. Mettaton smiled approvingly. There was cosplay material on a little table, various anime shirts, fairy lights on the walls and a laptop with Crunchyroll on it.

Alphys grinned again, readjusting her glasses. "O-oh man, I'm just so happy that you guys are here…" Undyne was serving tea, which Chara recoiled from. 

"Not Golden Flower…" Frisk heard them whisper. They seemed to like the cookies though.

"I-it's just kinda a shame that we're going to a con now…y-you guys could wait here while w-we go…?" Alphys looked guilty.

Frisk smiled at her. "I can go with you. If it's free." Sans nodded.

"i'll come i guess."

Alphys smile brightened. "O-oh! W-well, the rest of you can just…watch TV, or eat food…I- I don't mind!"

Alphys led Frisk to her bedroom and began frantically rummaging through her old cosplays. She picked out a relatively neat pink wig and cat ears and placed them in the kid's head. Chara raised their eyebrows.

"Looks good on you," they snickered. "Purr-fect!"

"I guess Sans is rubbing off on you," Frisk uttered, watching the aforementioned skeleton pull a school girl outfit over his head with seemingly no regret. Sometimes it paid to be nihilistic.

Chara's cheeks redenned and they turned away. "N-no! I just… thought I'd…you know, catch up with the cool…lingo? For the kids. You know."

Frisk rolled their eyes.

XXX

The four stood at the beginning of the vast convention. Stalls, panels, food...well, for Alphys and Undyne it was practically a condensed form of heaven. 

Frisk coughed a little and Sans patted their back. "believe it or not, kiddo, i used to be a giant weeb like them. the fear that you're gonna lose your entire future kinda takes away the joy in anime."

Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult to imagine Sans surrounded by piles of manga. "You guys are all DISGUSTING WEEABOOS!" Chara yelled. Unsurprisingly, no one could hear them. And id they could, they probably just would've agreed.

There was so much to see, monsters and humans alike congregating over their love of dumb, shiny cartoons. What a beautiful and simple way to create peace.

Frisk didn't have much money, but they ended up buying a little merch-stuff from their favourite cartoons and animes and the like. Sans just mostly looked like his soul had left his body, until he found a particularly awesome cosplayer and Frisk could see the childish delight returning to his eyes.

Chara looked bored for the majority of the con, until they found a small stall that sold physical copies of a webcomic. "Huh, this actually looks decent." They turned to Frisk, almost looking nervous. "Hey, uh...you think we can buy this…?" 

It didn't cost too much, and Frisk still had a little money left, so they nodded patiently, reached inside their glitter-covered purse and paid for it.

Chara grinned widely when Frisk handed it to them. "Th-thank you, Frisk!! I mean…umn, that was…cool of you to do, I guess." They flushed for the second time that day and shrugged.

Frisk just laughed and ruffled their hair. The sun has begun to set by the time they were taking the bus home. Chara had fallen asleep, leaning heavily against them, and snoring a little. They were sweet when they weren't killing people mercilessly.

XXX

When Alphys unlocked the door, they were met with the sight of Toriel baking a pie and Mettaton and Papyrus cuddling on the sofa. Sans's pupils darkened and he split the two apart quickly with magic, ignoring their protests.

When the pie was ready (and Chara was displaying their endless eating ability once again) Frisk cleared their throat. 

"Uh, Alphys and Undyne, I'm turning sixteen soon, so…I was wondering if you wanted to come to our place for my birthday?"

"Oh…well, I guess we could-" Undyne began.

"If you haven't got anywhere else to go, we were thinking of taking you now. We have two extra seats in the back."

Alphys and Undyne looks at eachother, then grinned. "O-ok! Let's do it!" the dinosaur smiled, pushing her glasses up again. Frisk beamed and Chara continued to eat pie.

XXX  
The car was brimming now, full of anime and skeletons and robots and leftover pie. It felt great. Just like home. Chara was laying across Frisk's lap, while they got out their phone.

They clicked the contact Goat Dad.

"Hey, dad. How about we have some tea?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Desu


	5. Adventure Is Out There!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore needs rescuing, so our duo take a trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so fun to write but plEASE EXCUSE.MY SHAMELESS SHIPPING OML

They weren't meant to be doing this. Being here, sticky hand clasped in clammy hand. It was just a comfort thing, Frisk reminded themself. On normal occassions, they would be avoiding physical contact with the little evil bean. It was like murderous tendencies were catching.

Frisk, however, found themself running a finger over the peeling sticker on the back of Chara's hand, and leaning against them to smell the faded scent of old washing powder and decaying fabrics and flowers. It was nice, and they were warm for a bodyless entity.

Chara crushed pebbles underneath their sneakers, staring down into the cavernous hole. It gaped open like a shark eye, black and bleak. Frisk held on tighter. A lump rose in their throat.

The two had managed to sneak out of the house while Sans and Toriel were napping, and everyone else was too busy to care. They'd packed a rucksack full of snacks and firstaid, and Frisk had texted mom to say that they had some errands to run. Since when had Frisk had errands? Oh well.

"Ready?" Chara asked, swinging their legs into the opening and looking up at their companion expectantly. Frisk swallowed the lump and looked out to the horizon. They would see the sun again. It was certain. They'd been to hell and back; a little trip wouldn't hurt them.

"Yeah."

And they fell, together.

XXX

The underground was much lonelier when it was empty. The flowers felt like golden cushions; but half of them had died, making for a slightly more painful landing. The kids untangled themselves from each other, already laughing uneasily.

There was nothing but the sighing of the cave walls, the creak of whining floorboards, muffled giggling as Chara and Frisk flipped through Toriel's abandoned diaries. The two wore empty pie tins like helmets and Chara reminisced over the old drawings pinned on the wall.

Snow whipped around their blue tinged skin. All the puzzles were long dead and gone. The house's lights were extinguished. Grillby visited his old bar sometimes, though, and gave Frisk an order of fries to get them through the journey. It tasted better shared, and besides, it meant they needed to huddle closer for bodyheat and it was cosier like that. They picked up a dropped scarf and shared it, nestling into the heat. 

Waterfall was silent, almost, save for dripping way and resounding footsteps. Chara was dazzled by the ceiling, sucking in their breath momentarily and squinting through the reflected and watery light.

The duo sat side by side, rolling off their socks and shoes and dipping their feet in the river. Chara whispered the stories that had been enscirbed on the walls. Then they got to limericks, particularly rude ones. Old secrets were lost to cuss words, as echo flowers cooed into the darkness, but no one was around to care anymore.

Frisk stumbled over songs on the piano, hazily recalling lessons from years ago. Chara laughed and joined in, singing slightly off-key. It was a discordant beauty that neither of them understood, really.

They stumbled through old paths, gasping and laughing as they almost tripped off of ledges, discarding the scarf and marvelling at the cavernous ceilings of Hotland. Chara was surprisingly strong when it came to catching people. They leafed through old manga collections and poured over the prototypes of Mettaton's designs.

All the food was eaten at the MTT resort, sitting in the empty fountain as the two distracted themselves from what came next. Chara and Frisk just talked for a while. About nothing, really.

Chara's favourite colour was yellow, whilst Frisk had a fondness for blue. Frisk loved dogs, particularly Beagles (but Chara liked cats better.) Frisk adored days when it rained and the sun popped out halfway through and there was a rainbow, but the other prefered the rumble of thunder and lightning flashing and heavy, endless rain that played rhythms like a set of the loudest percussion instruments.

They strolled together, through the core, dancing and playing tiny games of hide and seek. It was like a bizzare dream sewn together with memories for the material.

The judgement hall had soft orange light filtering through the window. Dramatic shadows leapt up the walls. Frisk watched Chara swallow and laugh sharply. 

"Now this makes me nervous," they croaked out, voice seeming to crack slightly. Frisk held them tighter still. "It looks nice, but…well, let's just say that I don't dislike Sans for no reason."

Frisk set their jaw and they walked, together.

XXX

Coming into the throne room was like entering a greenhouse. Buttercups, Marigolds, Sunflowers and Daffodils grew everywhere. Vines crawled up the crumbling pillars, huge leafs blocking out natural light. Frisk sneezed at the sheets of pollen that sifted through the air, and Chara giggled, seeming to ease up. 

Their faces were lit yellow with the colourful petals. A small table held a diary with unintelligible writing on it that had to be Asgore's. There was a tea set too, with a freshly steaming cup. 

Chara's face softened and they let themselves grin a little, twirling petals between their fingers. A low, sweet humming sounded from a distant corridoor.

The king's looming shadow appeared in a doorway and he shuffled through slowly. Asgore's beard had grown longer, his eyes more tired. His cape still draped around his broad shoulders, and it trailed on the ground, leaving a path of flattened flowers in his wake.

Asgore started at the sight of Frisk, who had a gentle smile ready for him. "Dad," they said, adjusting the straps of the rucksack.

Chara bent their head lower and didn't look over. Instead, the child pretended that the pattern on the doorframe was the most interesting thing they'd ever seen.

Face creased in a mixture of confusion, sadness and overwhelming joy, Asgore took slow, loping steps toward Frisk and exhaled hard as they wrapped their arms around him as far as they could stretch.

"Frisk…what are you doing here?" the monster asked, his voice like a trembling leaf. He stooped slightly, and Frisk could feel the warmth of tears catching in their hair. 

"Came back for you," they mumbled into his dusty cape. "Want you to come up with us-I mean me."

Frisk heard him drag his breath in, almost choking on it. "Maybe we should have some tea first."

XXX

They sat, flowers springing up to their elbows, cups of sweet and fragrant tea in their hands. Chara sipped theirs in an uncharacteristically demure way. 

Asgore sighed happily. "What a beautiful day it is," he said. "How's the weather up on the surface?"

Frisk shrugged, hitching their knees up to their chin. It was too warm in here, but it felt soothing to have cool leaves and petals all over their skin. "Fine."

"It would be nice to see the sun again. Maybe I should-"

"Why did you come back here?" the child asked abruptly. Chara flinched at Frisk's bluntness. "And why didn't you come to us?"

Asgore swallowed and looked into his teacup. "Well, Frisk…the world doesn't need monsters like me anymore."

Both Frisk and Chara got ready to protest.

"Now, now. Settle down." The goat smiled and chuckled. "It is sweet for you to care for me so, Frisk, but it is true. I found that I was much happier here. Tending to my flowers, enjoying the peace and quiet. Monsters no longer need a king, and so I am content to live here." Asgore sighed and placed his tea down.

"And besides," he continued. "I found that human jobs simply weren't for me. Your mother cannot bear the sight of me." Chara's expression darkened at this and they clutched their own arms hard. "So I will live here."

Frisk stumbled to their feet and slammed their hands down onto the tabletop. "No!" they cried, gritting their teeth. "You can't, it's not fair!" Asgore's dark eyes widened and he shuffled back slightly. Chara tugged at Frisk's shirt. "We need you at home; I need you!"

"Fri-"

"We just want you back!" Frisk sniffed hard and swallowed. "It's…my sixteenth birthday soon. Even if you don't stay…could you at least come up for a little while?" 

Asgore's face crumpled and he shook slightly. "Well…I suppose a little visit couldn't be too taxing." He heaved himself upwards and patted Frisk's shoulder firmly. "If it is for you."

XXX

Chara and Frisk stood on top of Mount Ebott and Asgore squinted against the sun. "Well, it is certainly even more gorgeous than I imagined." He closed his eyes and sighed, satisfied.

Frisk handed him this adress. "Tell mom that I sent you," they added, patting his back.

"Are you not coming yet?"

"Well, I have one or two things I have to wrap up. See you, dad."

The large monster waved and began making his way down the winding slope of the mountain. Chara frowned and turned to Frisk. "What do we have to do now?" they asked.

Frisk looked back. "Let's just say that we need to get back an old friend. One that you know pretty well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wink wonk whos this donk


	6. Heavy Hearts Holding Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's good to see him again. Even Chara cried about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SnGDHDHBD HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD VALENTINE'S DAY  
> THIS WJOLE CHAPTER IS TRASH IM SORRY

Frisk found it hard to leave Asgore to go home by himself. They scrubbed their eyes to soak up the tears budding there, and instead buried their face into his cape. It smelt of old pastries.

The three parted, and Chara made Frisk stay to see that he left the mountain safely, night already beginning to fall. They joined hands and breathed in the fresh air. It wouldn't be long before they'd have to walk all the way back to the ruins.

"So who is it, anyways?" Chara asked impatiently, tapping their feet and crossing their arms. Their brow had furrowed.

Frisk just gave a wan smile and led the way. The journey seemed longer going back, when all the novelties had been worn out. Chara groaned about their aching feet and back and Frisk ended up giving them a way-too-long piggy-back.

The one complaining by the end of it was Frisk.

XXX

"He's in Toriel's house."

"Who?! And HOW do you know?" Chara jiggled the door knob and stamped their foot. "It's locked, anyways!"

The duo stood before the "room under renovations." Frisk knelt down and drifted their hands against the floorboards, placing one of them on the fifth plank to right that was against the skirting board. It came out easily with the aid of a slight jiggle, and Frisk gave a triumphant smirk. They laughed at Chara's widened eyes as they fished a key out of the thick dust.

"How…did you know…?"

"I've some some snooping." Frisk giggled again. "What do you think I am? An angel? Sure, I might be pacifist, but I'm only human."

Chara shook their head and snatched the key from their friend. "Fine. But I'm the I opening it." The door gave an aged click as it creaked open.

A wave of must rolled forward, causing them to step back tentatively. The room was dark and warm; the air was almost moist. Chara cleared their throat and ventured in.

Frisk crept forward to one of the many murky shapes. At their stopping, a small and rusty voice broke the thick air. 

"What are YOU doing here?" Chara gasped at the words, fumbling in the darkness and hastily turning on a lamp. The light illuminated his bright yellow petals and pale moon of a face. 

Flowey hissed at the sudden light, curling his leaves hard. Chara covered their mouth and for the first time, Frisk thought that they could see tears budding in their eyes. 

Flowey glared furiously at Frisk, then looked slightly behind them and squinted. He blinked several times. "Ch…Chara?"

The child rushed forward and grasped the flower in their translucent arms, barely caring about the clumps of soil around his roots. Flowey choked on the air a little, and he shot a look at Frisk.

"Y-you…you two are friends…?"

Frisk shrugged and nodded, looking on in satisfaction as the two siblings embraced. It felt good to see that Chara really did have some humanity, however buried it was. They found themself smiling again.

"Asrie…Flowey. I'm… it's great to see you again. I guess." Chara hurriedly shook away their tears, swaying on their feet. The room was comforting and smelt nice.

Frisk held up their finger and walked outside, drinking in the slightly stuffy air. They scooped up a handful of dirt from the base of the skeletal tree in Toriel's former garden. It was cool and crumbly in their hands. They also grabbed a mug that had been left behind.

Proudly, Frisk presented it to Flowey and Chara, causing both of them to grimace and snort. Regardless, Flowey groaned and took his less dignified new position as a potted plant.

"Home?" Frisk asked, holding out an arm for Chara to take. They nodded, and leant against Frisk, and the now three made their way back to a family.

XXX

Walking was hard when you should've been sleeping hours ago. The snow seemed colder and the scarf wasn't thick enough. Each step made Frisk's feet burn. Chara was barely walking now, instead simply drifting along as if they were in a dream. Flowey was grumbling and complaining, as usual. Their phone had died long ago. No way to reach Toriel. With the last of their battery, they had told her where they were.

By the time they'd reached the softly glowing caverns of Waterfall, it felt like the air had solidifed to mollasses. The mushrooms glowed like nightlights burning through the thick darkness, and echo flowers seemed to croon lullabies into their drowsy ears.

Frisk slowed to a halt, followed by Chara, once they'd reached the overview of Asgore's distant castle. It shone blue and grey and green and every other soft and sea-like colour in the world. 

They slumped against each other and onto the ground, water seeping through their shorts and shoes. Even Flowey had calmed, resting his head against Chara's chest. He listened to the fake palpitations of it and was lulled. 

The kids found the other's hand in the dim light and clutched the warmth of it firmly. Chara could feel Frisk's very real pulse, trembling under their fingertips. It reminded them of a trapped bird or a butterfly.

Both of them looked at each other, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Frisk licked their dry lips. "Hey, it must be past midnight by now. Did you know that it's the human day of love today?"

"Really?" Chara's breath was soft and tickly against Frisk's cheek. "I forgot about that." They paused for a second. "The candy tastes like crap."

Frisk gave an inside-their-mouth laugh. "Yeah. Happy love day."

"You too. I guess." Chara was glad that it was this dark. That way they looked blue-ish, instead of red.

"It's still cold."

Chara shuffled forward a little, clutching Flowey to their chest to keep him safe. "Yeah." They wrapped their arm around Frisk's back and, gingerly, nestled their chin into the crook of their neck.

And Frisk felt like this was the best kind of blanket they could have. Like sitting in a cloud. They didn't know when they fell asleep, but they must've at some point, because they dreamt that Chara had kissed their forehead goodnight.

XXX

Frisk was woken up by scrabbling, hot, heavy, desperate paws all over their face and arms and back. "Oh, my child!"

Staring down at them was the sobbing form of Toriel. "Mom…" Frisk croaked, blinking hard. Sans had a hand on Toriel's back and a look of concern in his pinprick eyes.

The goat clutched their child to their chest, dragging her breaths in hard. "W-why did you come here? I was so worried, you could've been killed! Was it...was it to get Asgore? Oh God, I knew I shouldn't have let him in…"

"Isn't dad's fault." Frisk stumbled upward and patted Toriel's back. They glanced over to Sans who was staring pointedly at Flowey.

The buttercup was shrinking back in his mug, making squawking noises. Sans squinted. 

"He your friend, Frisk..?" the skeleton asked. Chara rose beside Frisk almost instantly, glaring at him. Sans shivered. "Is it cold in here or what? How about you guys come home with me and we make some…chilli?"

Frisk shook their head dissapointedly at the pun and took Flowey up in their arms, patting Chara on the back. Even if it was about 5 am, chilli did sound good.

XXX

Sans had a watchful eye on the mischevious flower next to him. Flowey seemed to be sweating bullets, sneaking anxious glances at Frisk. 

Asgore was perched on a seat too small for him, rearranging a vase of flowers on the side table. Undyne had Alphys snuggled in her lap, and the two shared smooches when no one else was looking. 

Papyrus and Mettaton shared the couch, hands joined and pressed shoulder to shoulder (Sans was watching them too.) Toriel was combing the knots out of Frisk's hair as they finished the rest of their chilli. Chara rested their head on their knee, eyes trained on the TV.

Together, on Love Day, enjoying bowls of chilli in the early hours of the morning, the family watched a cheesy old romantic movie together. And Frisk was happy. It even looked like Chara was too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding my ships to this chapter made it so much easier to write tbh.


	7. Make a Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big 1-6! It's Frisk's birthday and Chara's got an awesome present in mind. (IMPORTANT CHAPTER)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this tool so long to update gnsusbsn  
> And honestly I'm so sorry in terms of the contents of this chapter too :')

When Frisk woke, they were bathed in a soft golden light. The curtains were all wide open and they could see the dust floating across the beams. 

Chara was perched on the end of the bed, their face contorted into a bright grin. As soon as Frisk's eyes fluttered open, they pounced toward their friend and drew them into a crushing hug.

"Chara! Too tight!" they squawked, digging at the other's arms. Chara released them with a nervous laugh.

"Happy birhday!" Chara cried, and Frisk smiled in response, stumbling out of their bed and shivering in the morning air. Before they could even get dressed, Toriel had burst through the door.

"My child!" she cried, sweeping Frisk up and guzzling their head. "Oh, how you've grown. I can remember when you were only up to my knees…"

"Don't worry mom, I won't be going anywhere soon," Frisk said, patting her back and managing to wriggle their way out of the monster's grasp.

"Now," Toriel sniffed, wiping a lone tear from her eye. "Get dressed and come and get your breakfast. Oh, we have so much to prepare!"

Waiting on the table were a pile of gifts. Sans sat across from Frisk, seeming to smile even wider than usual. He held out his arms, and dragged the kid into a tight hug. Frisk noted that he only smelt of hotdogs now.

"happy b-day, kiddo. now go ahead and start unwrapping, the suspense is killing me."

Accompanied by a plate of pancakes (slathered in maple syrup) Frisk got started. It wasn't much of a surprise that they received an ugly hand knitted sweater from Toriel, which they loved, and Chara instantly wanted one of their own. There were a couple of other things, like new stuffed toys that they didn't need, and some plastic jewelry.

Sans handed over what was revealed to be a joke book-inevitably-which held a physics book inside-inevitably-so Frisk decided to stop-inevitably. They still didn't understand how he could do that.

After being showered with hugs and kisses, Frisk went to go fetch Flowey from their room. He seemed to be particularly fond of sleeping late recently, but they'd do their best to wake him anways.

It turned out that Frisk didn't need to. From behind a large box of papers, they could hear the sound of the small flower scribbling away. When Frisk peered over, Flowey screeched and slammed his new pot against the paper, causing soil to spill everywhere (and Chara to dissolve into a fit of giggles.)

Rolling their eyes, Frisk righted him and sat down next to him. "Hey. What's that you're drawing?"

Flowey pouted, then sighed heavily and thrusted his art at Frisk. "This was MEANT to be a surprise," he scowled. "Thanks for ruining it. And don't go thinking that this means we're buddy friend-friend chums. I just thought I'd thank you. You know. Etiquette."

The paper was decorated with crayons trails. They all linked together to form a messy drawing of a God of hyperdeath that looked horrifyingly like a Flowey-Frisk amalgamation. In block capitals were the words: HAPPY BIRTH DAY AND THANKS FOR NOT KILLING ME.

The inside read:

'thnak s for savving me. yore stil an idiot thoh. i also hate htis pot. also happy birthday.'

Frisk kept forgetting that Flowey was still a kid technically. They smiled fondly at the misspellings and pressed the paper to their chest. "It looks great."

Giving a huff of dismissal, Flowey turned away, leaves crossed like arms. "Idiot," he blushed.

XXX

Before long, everyone was bustling around, giving Frisk hugs and handing them present after present. From Papyrus, Frisk got a cooking book written by the chef himself. Mettaton gave them a stylish pair of boots, decorated with little hearts. They made Frisk feel…confident. And, strangely, like they wanted to break out into dance.

Alphys and Undyne contributed the entire series of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, along with all three video games. They promised to marathon it with Frisk. Asgore gave them a new watering can and a house plant. Flowey instantly took a liking to it, and insisted to be seated next to it during lunch.

Even those that Frisk hadn't expected to show up had done so anyway. Monster Kid tackled them into a hug. He had grown tiny arms that resembled a T-Rex's. Frisk giggled as he showed them off estatically. Chara just rolled their eyes.

Nicecream guy brought his whole cart with him. Grillby was making drinks for everyone. Onion-San almost crashed the party with their size, but somehow managed to fit under the roof. Inexplicably, Temmie was found hiding under the kitchen sink. There were so many other friends-too many to count.

Delighted, Frisk noticed that Burgerpants had shown up. He was leant against the counter, chatting to Catty and Bratty. The second he caught sight of the kid, his face lit up.

"Hey, little buddy!" he called, laughing and ruffling Frisk's hair. "Wow. The big 1-6. Before you know it you'll be picking up babes and driving your own wrecked Volvo."

The cat monster reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. "Here we go! My present you you." Burgerpants handed it over, and Frisk stared at it in confusion. "My new adress! I've finally got a REAL acting job!" A grotesque grin formed on his face. "And you can be the first to visit!"

Frisk gave Bpants a high five. "Awesome. See ya later!"

They walked away, practically glowing. Frisk was officially on top of the world. 

XXX

Everyone was exhausted by the end of the party, but Chara was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Toriel called everyone in for the birthday photo-it was for sentimental value really.

"Better get ready, Frisk, because I'm giving you your gift soon!" Chara sung, floating around joyously. 

Frisk raised their eyebrows slightly. God only knew what Chara was planning. 

They were huddled in the midst of many friends, all laughing and smiling. Frisk was preparing their best grin. Chara turned to then quickly. 

"Ok. Ok, now it's time!" Chara laughed again, and Frisk frowned. They had to take the picture soon. People were already getting impatient.

But before Frisk could protest aloud, something happened. They felt the clammy sweat on their skin, the touch of human flesh against theirs. Chara's hair really tickled their face, for the first time, and they could feel the heat of their breath. Chara was real. Chara was alive. Everyone could see.

There was a short delay before the commotion began. It was Toriel who saw first. Her face contorted into an expression of horror, and then extreme pain. Sans was next, a choked sound of horror coming from his forever shut mouth. 

"What the fuck?" he whispered, stumbling forward through the crowds. "Where did I go wrong now?" The skeleton was shaking so hard that he looked like he'd collapse into a pile of bones.

Screams, sobs and roaring rose from the bubbling crowd, the panic spreading like a wildfire. That was when the knife materialised. Chara's hand had began to glow a soft red that enveloped everyone, looping tight rings around their necks. 

"Chara…w-what…?" Frisk's mouth trembled.

Another hysterical laugh burst forth from Chara's lips. "It's called determination, Frisk!" Their face became shadowed. "And it's got a lot more to it then you realise."

The knife trembled in Chara's hand. The bonds grew tighter. "Chara please, you can't!" Frisk's voice cracked as they reached out desperately.

"Dont you see I'm doing this for YOU?" Chara turned around furiously. "They abandoned you and NO ONE CARED. I'm doing this for US. We can be happy in this new world I'll create, we can live together! I'm doing this for YOU, Frisk because I love you, I lov-"

The last thing Frisk remembered was the spark of blue in Sans's eye before, like the sudden end of a dream, or someone pressing the off switch on the remote control, everything cut to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IS THIS A BAD TWIST IDK IM SORRY DON'T STAKE ME


End file.
